An Ontario NDP candidate who said she wanted to “be a Black woman” and to have the experience “of poverty and living in addiction” has stepped down and said she will not contest the upcoming provincial election.
Amanda Zavitz, the NDP candidate for Elgin-Middlesex-London, was recorded during a presentation for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in March 2024.
In the video, she is heard saying: “My secret is that I want to be a Black woman,” adding later, “I want to be an expert in inequality with lived experiences of poverty and living in addiction and alcoholism. I want to be able to share my ideas without the barrier of looking the way I do.”
The clip was unearthed by the Progressive Conservative Party campaign and released on social media. There appears to be a cut between where Zavitz says she wants to be a Black woman and her comments about inequality.
After the video was shared, Zavitz released a statement saying she understood her comment was “harmful” and apologized but didn’t resign.
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“As a professor of sociology and women’s studies, I have made it my entire life’s work to amplify the voices of marginalized communities,” Zavitz, who is a sociology professor at Western University, wrote on Facebook.
“My goal is to use my education and voice to challenge the systemic inequalities that hold our society back.”
Less than 24 hours after her apology, Zavitz said she would step down from the campaign.
“After further reflection and discussion with my community members, I have decided to resign as the Ontario NDP candidate for the upcoming election,” she wrote in a second Facebook post.
“It has become clear that my past comments are distracting from the critical task of defeating Doug Ford and electing an Ontario NDP government.”
Asked about the comments before Zavitz resigned, NDP Leader Marit Stiles denounced them and said she had apologized but did not say she would remove the candidate.
“She’s apologized,” Stiles said. “As soon as we heard about this we reached out to her because it is concerning. I think they’re inappropriate comments but she has apologized.”
Meanwhile, the Ontario NDP said it had found donations records showing Ontario Liberal candidates had donated more than $20,000 to provincial and federal conservative campaigns.
The Liberals are also facing pressure to drop their Oshawa candidate over offensive social media posts he made about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a Sikh leader who was killed in Canada.
The deadline for nominations has passed, meaning candidates who drop out cannot be replaced.
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